The Demon
It was almost evening at Duel Academy, everything seemingly peaceful. Speaking of peaceful, the brown cat, Pharaoh, was relaxing on top of the stands of the main arena. The cat let out a meow like it was yawning... allowing a small orb of light come out of his mouth.
"Finally! I am free!" The orb cheered and tried to fly away, only for Pharaoh to smack it down on the ground with a paw before swallowing it whole."Oh come on!"
Down in the middle of the arena, a duel was going on. The two duelists facing each other, was Bastion and Jaden. On Bastion's side, there was a huge serpentine dragon with its entire body made of water.
On the Jaden's field, there were two monsters. One of them was Sparkman. The other one was a green-skinned figure with only one white feathered wing on his back, a red tail, and his arm being a red dragon head.
Jaden held up a spell card. "Check this out! Polymerization!" His two monsters swirled together. "Now give it up for my Shining Flare Wingman!" From a flash of light, a new monster appeared in their place. A green-skinned man clad in bright white armor, with a helmet and razor-like wings. "Now finish him off with Solar Flare!" The hero charged forward, and delivered a punch on the dragon's face, making it explode. "That's game!" Jaden gave Bastion his two finger salute as the holograms vanished.
"Good show." Bastion complimented while approaching him. "You'd be one of the Academy's top pupil's if you actually attended class."
"Who needs class?"
"All I'm saying is good grades help. You do hope to be a professional someday, don't you?"
"Well of course. The problem is I've already beaten almost everyone there is to be. So I don't need grades. What I need, is challenge." Jaden then brought up a magazine that had a picture of Zane with his Cyber End Dragon in the background. "Then I'll be ready to duel with the pros. You know, like Zane."
"Hey, Jaden! They just announced on the news!" Syrus shouted, suddenly rushing over to the duo. "Guess who's dueling tomorrow!"
"Uh, Zane?" Bastion replied.
"Hey, way to ruin my surprise!" Syrus complained.
"Sorry." The intelligent ra apologized.
"Alright, fine." Syrus turned to Jaden. "But you'll never guess who he's going up against!"
"Aster Phoenix?" Jaden guessed.
Now Syrus looked upset. "No fair!"
Later that night, Jaden, Syrus, Bastion, Andrew, Jenny and Shiori were gathered together in the Slifer Red dorm, watching the news on TV. And at the moment, the screen was showing an image of Zane and Aster facing each other.
"Zane's dueling Aster Phoenix?" Alexis asked, slightly surprised.
"Please!" Chazz scoffed. "Don't tell me you're worried Aster's gonna win. Come on, give me a break! That overrated punk couldn't even beat Jaden!"
"You forget the fact that Aster didn't even use his real deck when he faced Jaden." Shiori pointed.
"That's true. He used a deck full of random cards he put together right before their match." Andrew added.
"Thus, he has yet to reveal the power of his true deck." Bastion said. "For all we fathom, Zane is about to embark on the greatest challenge of his career."
"You're not worried, are you?" Syrus asked Jaden.
"No way." Jaden replied nonchalantly. "He'll win."
"Let's hope so." Jenny said, slightly concerned.
Meanwhile, in the Chancellor's office
"Listen to me, s'il vous plait! We can't wait until next year! We need Aster Phoenix tout de suite!" Bonaparte shouted. He was currently on the phone, while Crowler was just sitting there on his seat. "Our future depends on it. We'll pay anything you want for him."
"Bonaparte, don't you think you're being a bit too hasty?" Crowler asked.
"Quiet!" The Vice Chancellor snapped at him. "You had your chance to make something out of this school, now leave it to someone with a brain!" He then focused on the phone again. "No, I was just talking to my secretary."
"Secretary?" Crowler repeated. "In your dreams!"
"Will you clam up?!" Bonaparte snapped again. "The whole school is going down the toilet, and you... you're responsible for this mess! Luckily, I'm here to clean it up. Now take your ponytail wearing cheap suit out of here!"
"Alright, fine. But that really hurt." Crowler whimpered.
In the city, night had fallen. Coming out of a hotel was Zane, and a man with slick brown hair in a black business suit, approaching a limousine.
"I hope you're ready for tomorrow." The man said. "As our new spokesman, we expect a victory. Do I make myself clear? Our company's invested quite a bit of money into you, Mr. Truesdale." The two of them shook hands.
"You can count on me. I never lose." Zane said confidently.
"Care for a ride?" His manager offered, gesturing to the limo, with one of its doors opened by the chauffeur.
"Thank you, but I like to walk, especially before a big match."
"Be careful." His manager warned him, before getting into the limo.
"Careful? Why?"
Right after the door was closed, the manager opened the window. "Don't you read the paper, kid? There's some sort of demon on the loose."
Zane was given a newspaper, with a picture of a silhouette of an unknown figure. "Demon? Gimme a break." He then returned the newspaper.
"Don't forget, we want a victory." At that, the limo took off, leaving Zane on his nightly walk.
As he walked through the city, Zane tried to keep himself focused on the upcoming match instead of this 'Demon' rumor. 'I have bigger things to worry about than a figment of someone's imagination.'
"Aaaah! Help me!"
A man's scream from an alleyway alerted him, making rush over to the scene, witnessing the victim fall down on the ground... right before an unknown figure."
"You can't hide from destiny." The stranger said before a bunch of cards and taking off.
Zane rushed over to the man and lifted him up. "You alright?"
"That thing... it wasn't human." The man muttered before passing out.
Zane stared at the poor guy for a moment before noticing something up above. He recognized its silhouette. It was the-so-called 'Demon' whose picture was on the newspaper. Not too long after he noticed it, it vanished.
A couple of policemen rushed over to the scene. "Mr. Truesdale! Are you okay, sir?" One of them asked while the other one kneeled down and checked on the victim.
"I'm fine."
"What in the world could have done this to him?" The other policeman asked.
Zane's only response was, "A Demon..."
Inside the white room, there was the white cloaked man, setting his cards on the table in front of him. Without turning back, he greeted the person that entered that room; Aster Phoenix. "Welcome back. I trust your evening was fruitful."
"You could say that." Aster replied. "So what's up?"
"I wish you's spend less time on your juvenile games and more time preparing for your duels. You're on the heels of the greatest challenge of your life."
"Please, you know I'll win." Aster scoffed.
The man picked up the upright Chariot card. "Yes, the cards do predict victory, however, Zane is merely one step towards your true destiny."
"Any chance you're gonna tell me what my destiny might be?"
"No, but you shall find out in due time, and until then, you must put your complete faith in me."
"What about Jaden? I threw that match for you. Do you have any idea how embarrassing that was?" Aster questioned. "I've got my career to think about, ya know? It's bad enough you had me enrolled in that lame school, but insisting I lose to that Jaden kid...?"
"It was the only way to test him." The man explained calmly. "He has more ability than you know."
"But he's not even a pro."
The man chuckled. "Oftentimes, the greatest power can be found in the most unlikely of places. Now then, after your match with Zane, you will return to Duel Academy, where you will challenge Jaden Yuki to another duel."
"Sure, but what about the other guy. You once told me there were two guys you've been after."
"All in good time, Aster. You'll learn about his identity when the time is right."
"Alright, but do I get to win this time?"
The man looked back to him. "Of course, but first things first. Your public awaits."
"Yeah, good point. I've got a big night ahead. After all, it's the night I reveal my true deck."
Back at Duel Academy, everyone was gathered in one of the classrooms, watching the Pro League on the huge screen.
"I can't believe Crowler sprung for cable." Alexis noted.
"Well, it's his money, and not ours, so I'm not complaining." Michael replied.
At the Kaiba Dome, everyone was getting ready for tonight's match.
"Good evening, dueling fans! We are coming to you live from the Kaiba Dome." The commentator named Sheen Armon announced.
"That's right, Sheen." His partner named Billy Baldwin replied. "And this capacity crowd is split right down the middle. It's the Zane-iacs versus the Aster Phoen-atics!"
Pillars of blue flames erupted in a circle in the arena.
"And the game is underway!"
Rising on an elevated platform, Zane arrived on the field, getting a roaring cheering from the crowd. Especially the ladies on his side of the audience.
"What's he got I haven't got?!" Chazz asked angrily, making Jaden laugh.
"A career, personality, oh and a good-looking little brother." Syrus cracked.
"Good one, Sy!" Matt replied with a grin, slapping his fellow short Ra Yellow on the back, sitting right next to him.
And emerging on a platform on the opposite side of the field, was Aster. And his entrance gave him his round of cheering from the crowd, including the fangirls.
"Looks like Zane isn't the only lady killer." Hassleberry commented as Chazz kept growling.
"He is a hottie." Angie commented with a grin. "I mean, just look at him!"
"He's not that special." Chazz muttered.
"Jealous much?" Pele asked.
"Shut up!"
"Tonight's mystery: What's in Aster's deck?"
"Looks like we're about to find out, Sheen."
"I've heard a lot about you." Zane said, inserting his deck into his duel disk. "30 professional duels and not a single defeat. That's not too shabby for a little kid."
Aster smirked and inserted his own deck into his duel disk. "You're too kind. Thanks, Gramps."
Zane growled. "Let's do this!"
"Bring it on!" The two of them activated their duel disks and drew their opening hands.
Zane: 4000
Aster: 4000
"Alright, age before beauty!" Aster drew his sixth card.
'Time to check Aster's real deck.' Jaden thought.
"I think I'll start by summoning this guy!" Aster held up one of his cards.
And the Academy students gasped upon seeing the artwork of that card.
"Hold on, that's mine." Jaden said, surprised.
"Seriously?" Andrew muttered in shock.
"Go, Elemental HERO Avian!" Aster called as the green-clad hero with feather wings appeared, but he had a slightly dark tint to him. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000 LV: 3)
"No way! A deck of heroes?" Zane asked, being surprised just like those back at the Academy.
"Exactly." Aster smirked. "Just like your old Academy chump, Jaden. Like my surprise?"
"Come on, bro. That's not cool. Show some originality." Jaden said to the screen.
"He calls that his real deck?" Candace, who was sitting nearby, questioned before scoffing. "Yeah right."
"That is so wrong." Shiori commented while shaking his head.
"And next I'll throw down a couple of facedowns and end my turn." Aster concluded as two facedown cards appeared on the field.
"A solid opening move by Aster Phoenix." Sheen commented.
"I have to agree Sheen. Plus, a sneak peek into that new mystery deck off his!" Billy added.
After getting over his shock, Zane smiled.
"Check it out! He's smiling." Syrus pointed out.
"Wouldn't you be?" Bastion asked with a smile. "Zane has the advantage. Remember, he's already dueled against Jaden's deck."
"And he already knows how to defeat it." Alexis added.
"Assuming if it's anything like Jaden's deck. Or maybe Andrew's deck." Jenny replied.
"Yeah, even though he can't possibly have the Masked HERO cards." Andrew said. "As far as I know, I have the only set that exists."
"Hey Aster, check this out." Zane began his turn. "I play Cyber Dragon in attack mode." The mechanical serpentine dragon appeared. (ATK. 2100 DEF: 1600 LV: 5) "I'm allowed to summon him when all of the monsters in play are on your side. A little trick I picked up at the Academy. Alright Cyber Dragon, attack with Strident Blast!" The dragon spat out a stream of blue energy.
"You just triggered my Draining Shield trap card!" One of Aster's remaining facedown card flipped up and created a greenish barrier that blocked the blast. "isn't that special? But not only did it block your dragon's attack, it raises my life points with the amount of its attack points."
"Nice move, but here's a better one!" Zane held up one of the cards from his hand. "It's a spell card, and it's called Trap Booster! So that means after I ditch a card, I can play a trap card from my hand." He then discarded a certain monster card before a trap card appeared. "I choose my Trap Jammer, and it cancels out your trap card, Junior."
"That's your move?" Aster asked with smirk. "Come on, Zane-y, don't you realize a card like that is a dime a dozen, unlike this one!" His other facedown card flipped up. "I play Protection of the Elements!"
Andrew widened his eyes. "Now it's one of my cards?"
"Now that's just stupid!" Angie scowled.
"All I have to do is remove my Elemental HERO from play for one turn, and it stops your trap card, canceling out all your hard work." As soon as Avian vanished, Zane's trap shattered into pixels. After that, Aster was engulfed in a blue aura.
Aster: 4000-6100
"What an even match." Bastion said.
"They're neck and neck." Hassleberry added. "Now this is what I call combat."
"I wonder what else Aster has in his deck." Jaden said.
"You can smell the tension in the air, folks!" Sheen announced.
"Actually, uh... that was me." Billy admitted.
"Um... we'll be right back after this."
As they commented, Zane ended his, allowing Aster Avian return to the field. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000 LV: 3)
"But seriously though. First Avian and now this?" Shiori questioned. "So far, he's been using cards that Jaden and Andrew would use."
"That really is not original at all." Matt added.
Candace scoffed. "What's next? Absolute Zero?"
"And we're back!" Sheen announced.
"Let me tell you, Sheen, I haven't seen two pros go at it like this since Kaiba and Yugi!"
"Alright Zane, get this!" Aster began his turn before a certain green pot with a grinning face appeared briefly. "I play Pot of Greed, which I'm sure you know let's me add a couple more cards to my hand." Zane narrowed his eyes as his opponent drew his extra cards. "Then I'll kick it Polymerization style!" A fusion vortex appeared behind Aster. "I'll be fusing Avian on the field with Burstinatrix in my hand..." The red-clad female hero appeared before both of them entered the fusion vortex, swirling together. "So give big Kaiba Dome welcome to Elemental HERO Phoenix Enforcer!"
The fusion monster that emerged was a figure with the upper half of his human face hidden by a green helmet, Avian's feather wings, a right claw added to his black and flaming body paint, and red legs and tail. (ATK: 2100 DEF: 1200 LV: 6)
"Okay, that's new." Jenny said slowly, about as surprise as the others.
"Yeah, I thought he would play Flame Wingman." Syrus admitted.
"And I half-expected that he would play one Andrew's guys, like Nova Master, or Great Tornado."
"Tell me about it." Jaden replied. "Hey Andrew, you know anything about that hero?"
Andrew shook his head. "No, I've never seen that before." He then noticed Cassandra. "Hey, Cassandra. You've seen that card before?"
"Huh?" She was a little surprised that he called out to her before answering. "Uh, no. Never heard of it."
"Pretty rad outfit, don't you think Zane-y?" Aster taunted. "Now check out its attack! Go, Phoenix Flame!" The new hero gathered some flames on his claw before charging forward.
"But they got the same strength!" Hassleberry pointed out. "It's a wash."
"Not quite." Bastion agreed.
Phoenix Enforcer landed a slashing strike on Cyber Dragon's neck, making it explode. But for some reason, the HERO monster was still on the field.
"Guess I forgot to mention Phoenix Enforcer's special ability. He can't be destroyed in battle." Aster explained.
Zane gritted his teeth.
"Oh well, I'll throw this down and end my turn." A card appeared near Aster's feet.
"Alright kid, settle down!" Zane drew. "First I activate Cyber Dragon Core's special ability..." The larva-like machine monster appeared briefly. "I discarded it when I played Trap Booster. And if you're the only one with monsters on the field, I can remove Cyber Dragon Core from play and then summon a Cyber Dragon monster to the field. So that means I can summon another Cyber Dragon." Another serpentine dragon appeared. (ATK: 2100 DEF: 1600 LV: 5) "And guess what. I drew my own Pot of Greed, so I'll draw two cards... He drew his extra cards, and held up one of them. "and then play an old favorite. The spell card, Power Bond!"
"Wicked!" Jaden cheered.
"Awesome! Zane's making a comeback!" Syrus added.
"Listen up, cause Zane's about to win. I'll send 2 machines to the graveyard in order to summon a while new machine. So meet my Cyber Twin Dragon!" One more Cyber Dragon appeared before the two of them swirled and were swallowed in a flash of light. And in their place was a bigger serpentine dragon with two heads instead of one. Each head had a different circle of color. One yellow and one blue. (ATK: 2800 DEF: 2100 LV: 8) "But my Power Bond's not done just yet. Next, it doubles my Twin Dragon's attack points!" The dragon roared as it glowed blue. (ATK: 2800-5600) "And now, Cyber Twin Dragon, attack his Phoenix Enforcer!" Both of the heads spat out streams of blue energy that blasted the HERO monster. And even though it survived, the explosion damaged Aster's life points.
Aster: 6100-2600
"Guess what. I have one more surprise. It can attack again!
"Just like I thought. Aster's gonna lose." Chazz commented.
Once again, the dragon fired streams of energy at Phoenix Enforcer, making a blast big enough to engulf Aster's side of the field.
"Well, that's it, folks! This duel is over!" Sheen proclaimed.
But when the smoke cleared, Aster was standing there with a smug look on his face.
Aster: 0100
"Unbelievable, Sheen! He's still standing!" Billy commented.
"You're right! It looks to me like Aster survived!"
"But how?!" Zane looked shocked. "I won!"
"Afraid not." Aster replied, gesturing to a faced-up trap card near him. "You ever hear the expression ' The Duel Monsters card is quicker than the eye'?"
"What are you trying to say?"
"Can't you see? I just played my Elemental Recharge, which gave me a life point boost. In fact, I got 1000 for every HERO on the field."
Zane gritted his teeth again.
"And as for you, your Power Bond comes with a price, and it's time for to pay up with your life points. Make that 2800 of them, right? The same amount as your dragon's original attack strength..."
"My turn isn't over just yet!" Zane interrupted. "I play Cyber Kirin!" A machine creature resembling a dog appeared. (ATK: 300 DEF: 800 LV: 3) "By sacrificing this monster, I can make reduce my effect damage to 0." At that, Cyber Twin Dragon had dark aura enveloping it, but Cyber Kirin vanished. And when it did, the aura vanished as well.
"Good. At least his life points are safe." Andrew said.
"But still, it was unexpected that Aster actually survived the two attacks like that." Pele replied.
"You could say that again." Angie added.
"Please, you're far from safe." Aster began his turn. "Because things are gonna get tougher, thanks to my Sparkman!" The blue and golden armored hero appeared. (ATK: 1600 DEF: 1400 LV: 4) "And next, I'll play this card! Spark Blaster!" A rectangular gun appeared on his right hand. "But I'm not done yet. Then I'll play my Guard Penalty spell card! Now I can choose any monster on the field, and if it switches to defense mode, I get to draw a card. So I think I'll pick your Twin Dragon! And, what do you know? I can use Spark Blaster to switch it to defense mode." Sparkman fired an electric shock at the dragon, causing it to lower itself.
"So while he's taking a nap, I'll draw a card." Aster drew his extra card. "Did you get all that? Maybe I should show again by switching back to attack mode!" Sparkman fired another blast, causing the dragon raise itself. "Now then, how about an instant replay? Back to bed, little dragon.~" Aster taunted as Sparkman fired one more blast that forced the dragon back to defense mode.
As this went on, most of the fans started to laugh. "Look at that mom, the dragon's doing tricks." A little girl commented.
"Is it me, or is this crowd laughing?" Sheen asked.
"Can you blame them?" Billy replied. "Aster's playing with that dragon like it's a pup on a leash."
"Hear that? It sounds like the crowd's on you." Aster smiled. "They know you're a joke."
"Shut it!" Zane snapped.
"I've never seen Zane like this." Syrus said with a. frown.
"He can't lose to some kid." Chazz said.
"He's more than a kid." Bastion replied. "Just look. In one round, he's made a laughingstock of our number one graduate."
"Now that's just mean." Candace muttered.
"See ya, Blaster. Thanks for everything!" Aster said as the blaster vanished. "Don't forget, I get to draw one more card. I gotta tell you, Zane-y..." He drew another card. "Well, I thought you'd be tougher, cuz I was just getting warmed up! Ready?"
Zane widened his eyes as Aster held up a familiar card.
"I activate Polymerization! In order to form Elemental HERO Shining Phoenix Enforcer!" The two heroes swirled together and were swallowed by a flash of light. And from it, Phoenix Enforcer emerged, but in a different form. He was wearing a new green suit with metallic wings, boots and gauntlets with claws. (ATK. 2500 DEF: 2100 LV: 8)
"Oh great." Zane muttered.
"Another new hero." Andrew muttered in shock.
"That thing's way bigger than any of them hero guys in your deck, Jaden." Hassleberry added.
"The fun doesn't stop there, Zane-y. My Shing Phoenix Enforcer get 300 points for every hero in my graveyard, for a grand total of 3700 attack points." The hero glowed brightly for a moment. (ATK: 2500-3700) "And now, show them how you're got your name. Shining Enforcement!" The hero became encased in light before plowing through the dragon, making it explode. "Alright, I'll toss this facedown and call it a turn." A card appeared near Aster's feet.
"What a move by Aster Phoenix!"
"You said it, Sheen. And unless Zane pulls a miracle, his pro career may be over!"
Aster laughed a bit.
"Sorry Aster, but the joke's on you, and it's time for the punchline. My move!" Zane drew his next card and looked at it before revealing the other card in his hand. "I play this! A little card called Polymerization!" A fusion vortex appeared. "But that's not all. Next I'll play, Cybernetic Fusion Support!" The card he drew appeared. "Here's how it works; I lose half my points..."
Zane: 4000-2000
"Then I take some of my fusion material monsters and I remove them from my field and grave. Now for the fun part. I'll fuse them together!" At that, all three Cyber Dragons appeared and swirled together.
"Talk about a sweet comeback!" Jaden commented.
"Nice! He just bought himself a victory!" Bastion added.
"Go get him, Zane!" Michael cheered.
"Meet... Cyber End Dragon!" And from a flash of light, Zane's ace monster appeared with a mighty roar. (ATK: 4000 DEF: 2800 LV: 10) That earned him cheers from the audience.
"Listen to that crowd, their laughter has turned to cheers of admiration!"
"You said it, Sheen! Zane-o-mania is running wild here at the Kaiba Dome!"
"Alright, it's been a blast, kid. But all good things must come to an end!" At that, the dragon reared back all its three heads, preparing to fire away energy blasts. "Nice knowing ya." Zane said with a smirk.
But the younger Pro duelist smirked back. "I gotta say, you talk a wicked game, but when you duel the pros, I'm afraid talk's only get you two things: Beaten and fast!"
Zane gasped. "Wait! Your facedown card!" But it was too late, the dragon fired away its three energy beams.
"Destruction of Destiny to be exact!" Aster's facedown card flipped up. "Nice try, Zane-y, but thanks to my trap, you're about to lose, cuz now I can send the top 3 cards of my deck to the graveyard." He drew three cards and looked at them briefly. "And It looks those cards Clayman, Bladedge and Bubbleman." He slid them into his graveyard slot. "Oh, and did I mention Enforcer's special ability ability? For every HERO card in the graveyard, he gains 300 attack points!" (ATK: 3700-4600)
"What?!" Zane exclaimed as the hero then pushed through the energy blast and plowed through the three-headed dragon, making it explode.
Zane: 2000-1400
"That's right. Your little dragon just picked the wrong fight. Guess who's got more points now, Zane-y."
"...you."
"Correct! And don't you forget it!" Aster began his turn. "Shining Enforcement!" The hero conjured a ball of energy and threw it at Zane, hitting him with a massive explosion.
Zane: 1400-0000
"Unbelievable, ladies and gentlemen. Zane Trueasdale has lost!" Sheen proclaimed.
Everyone at the academy was shocked.
"History has been made here in the Kaiba Dome." Sheen added.
Zane fell down to one knee. "How can this be...?"
"Simple... you can't hide from destiny."
He looked up at Aster right after hearing him saying those words. 'Wait a second...' He then remembered the incident last night, where he heard the exact same line. "The demon! It's you!"
Aster didn't say a word. He just walked away.
"I can't believe Aster just took out my brother." Syrus said.
"Tell me about it." Andrew replied.
"He can't be beat." Bastion said.
"We'll see about that." Jaden replied.
Well, to think I was able to update again a few days after the latest update of my 5D's story. Must be a new record for me. I'll see you guys again, and once again, I wish you all a Happy Halloween.
